Venus: Radiant Morning and Evening Star

Andrew Rooke

Venus has exercised an eternal fascination for humanity. Second known planet from the Sun and companion
planet of Earth, it vies with Sirius and
Jupiter as the brightest celestial object in the sky after the Sun and Moon. As
herald of the dawn Venus is visible before sunrise or it shines forth as the
evening "star" immediately after sunset. Homer called it the most beautiful star
in the sky, and the disciples of Pythagoras revered it as the only planet bright
enough to cast a shadow. The Greeks named their goddess of beauty Aphrodite, and
the Romans named it Venus. When it was visible in the sky at sunset, it was
called vesper (Latin "evening"), and as it rose before the Sun it was
called the false light, the star of the morning, or Lucifer ("light-bearer").

This ancient reverence is reflected in theosophical teachings which
speak of the close inner connections between Venus and Earth: "Venus is the most occult,
powerful, and mysterious of all the planets; the one whose influence upon,
and relation to the Earth is most prominent." (H. P. Blavatsky, The Secret
Doctrine 2:30-1)

Modern scientists have been equally impressed by the mysteries of our celestial neighbor. Since 1962, when
the US spacecraft Mariner 2 passed within 22,000 miles of Venus, a series of US
and Soviet space explorations have pierced the dense clouds veiling the planet's
surface to give us a dramatically clear and detailed picture. Since September
1990 the Magellan radar-mapping spacecraft has transmitted thousands of images
of areas as small as 100 meters across, covering about 99% of
Venus's surface. It has also imaged about 21% of the surface from
different angles, offering scientists stereoscopic views of about 80% of the
planet. Three-dimensional computer simulations based on the Magellan radar maps
enable us to fly in our imagination above the scorching landscape simmering in
an orange sunlight.

Seventy-five kilometers below the dazzling white cloud-tops which course around the planet at 200
mph, black undulating lava plains stretch endlessly before us, indicating Venus's recent
fiery geological history which has seen 90% of the planet resurfaced with molten rock. Descending through the
choking fog of carbon dioxide, clouds of sulphuric acid eddy above the rocky
surface, baking at 900°F, kept constant by
the global greenhouse effect. We survey a landscape of lava twisted into all its
possible forms beneath a crushing atmosphere 90 times the pressure of that on
Earth.

The generally smooth surface appears somewhat as Earth might look seared of its oceans.
Venus, however, has only two large conti­nents: Aphrodite Terra, roughly the size of Africa, near
the Venusian equator in the southern hemisphere; and Ishtar Terra, roughly the
size of Australia, near the north pole. The highest point in this desolate
landscape are the Maxwell Mountains in Ishtar Terra rising to about 35,000 feet
above the average radius of Venus, 20% higher than Mt. Everest is above sea level.
Most spectacular are Magellan's three-dimensional images of volcanoes such as Maat
Mons, an eight-kilometer high mountain that shows possible evidence of eruptions in recent geologic time.
The only other places in the solar system known to have active volcanoes are Earth, Jupiter's
moon Io, and Neptune's moon Triton.

The largest and lowest lowland region is the Atlanta Plain northeast of Aphrodite Terra, roughly the
size of the North Atlantic Ocean. The lowest point is the Diana Chasma, located within central
Aphrodite Terra. Just 1.8 miles below the average radius of Venus, this canyon is shallow
compared to the Earth's Challenger Deep in the Marianas Trench, 7 miles below the surface of the Pacific
Ocean. Still, in places the flowing lava has carved long sinuous channels dotted
with lava islands and channel bars. One such lava riverbed forms the longest
channel yet discovered in the solar system, stretching 4,200 miles, longer even
than the Nile River.

Dome-shaped hills dot the
horizon like huge pancakes 30 to 60 kilometers across, their upper surfaces
cracked and faulted like bread crust. Gentle winds pile sand and dust into
fields of sand dunes, which look like the deserts of Earth or Mars. Towering
above the volcanic deserts are huge continental blocks and also circular or oval
structures 200 to 1,000 kilometers in diameter where thick molten rock has
bubbled to the surface like hot mud bubbling in a geyser. Unlike many bodies in
our Sun's family, there are very few craters because of the dense atmosphere
absorbing incoming meteorites and the active
volcanism on the surface.

There is an old saying that
the "stars teach as well as shine," though their inner secrets may well be hid
even from the prying instruments of modern
spacecraft. It is with the inner life of the planets and stars as living beings
that we are primarily concerned here. Modern environmentalists are beginning to
express similar ideas in such concepts as the Gaia
principle popularized by Dr. James Lovelock, which speaks of the
"self-regulating" mechanisms of the Earth behaving like a living entity. Popular
ecological crusader Dr. David Suzuki in his
book Wisdom of the Elders: Honoring Sacred Native
Visions of Nature (with Peter Knudtson, Bantam Books, New York, 1992) speaks also of the need for
modern Western civilization to embrace a reverence for the Earth as a living
being — recognized by all the native peoples of the world — rather than
considering it as the object of endless economic exploitation.

Theosophy
goes on to explain something more of the intricate web of life in the night sky.
Within our solar system there are seven sacred planets forming a brotherhood to
administer the building and guide the development of each world in the solar
system. Those closely associated with the life of our Earth, according to
ancient tradition, were Moon, Mercury, Venus, Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn,
with the Moon and the Sun standing as substitutes for other, invisible worlds.
Venus was given prominence for its role in the development of our world. Syrian
mystics spoke of Venus as the home of the Principalities in their scheme of the
spiritual regents of the solar system. Greek philosopher-mathematician
Pythagoras called Venus the "Sol alter" (the "other Sun").
In the Christian tradition, St. Augustine saw a close correlation between the
fate of Venus and our planet. G.
de Purucker
emphasizes the spiritual links between the Earth and Venus recognized by
ancient authorities: "It is perhaps the most closely connected with the earth in
a number of ways; and it has been said that wherever Venus goes, there goes the
earth also, and vice versa" (Fountain-Source of Occultism, p. 329). As
stated by H. P.
Blavatsky: "According to the Occult
Doctrine, this planet is our Earth's primary, and its spiritual
prototype. . . . Every sin committed on Earth is felt by Usanas-Sukra [Venus].
. . . Every change on Sukra is felt on,
and reflected by, the Earth." (The Secret Doctrine 2:31)

Planetary scientists also see a close resemblance between Venus and the ancient Earth — not the vision of
swamplands and dinosaurs beloved of Hollywood movies, but the Archaean era 4.5
to 2.5 billion years ago when the Earth's crust was still scorching hot and life
as we would recognize it was just emerging. Paradoxically,
theosophical teachings indicate that Venus is
more advanced than Earth in its evolution and that the closer a planet is to
the Sun, the farther along it is in its current planetary life cycle. Although
Venus is a hellish environment for Earthlings,
it is said to be inhabited by highly intelligent beings as much at home in their
habitat as we are amid our green forests and meadows.

Next time when you are out walking at sunset, pause a moment and look at the western sky.
The first star to appear out of the embers of the slumbering sun and the loveliest of all the
starry host against the blackness of the night sky, may be Venus as evening
star. Ponder with the shepherds, poets, and philosophers of ancient times, and
with the astronomers of our own era, on the mystery and wonder of Earth's twin
planet.

[The author wishes to
acknowledge the kind assistance of David F. Doody, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena,
in the preparation of this article.]